Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Want to see how lazy I can be? I'm pretty much going to reuse Dove's introduction for her partner, Hawk!

While DC Universe Classics really didn't die (it basically morphed into
multiple other lines, including the DC Comic Multiverse line we have
today), series 20 was the last numbered series of figures released under
the name. For a "final series" it was an unusual series of figures to
say the least including variants of Green Arrow, Sinestro, and the
Flash, Red Arrow, Reverse Flash, Nekron, and the team of Hawk and Dove.
Today I'm checking out Dove Hawk, the lone female figure another dude from series 20. As I
mentioned in yesterday's my previous review of Bronze Tiger I picked up a few loose
DC Universe Classics figures from someone a couple of weeks ago and
both Dove and Hawk were included. I'm enjoying filling in holes in my
collection so I figured I'd take the time to review them, starting with
Dove and followed by Hawk. Hawk and Dove are definitely not characters I'm super familiar
with but being a fan of both DC Comics and of the DC Universe Classics
aesthetic, I'm glad to finally add them to my collection. Let's take a
closer look at this figure after the break...

Tuesday, November 28, 2017

While DC Universe Classics really didn't die (it basically morphed into multiple other lines, including the DC Comic Multiverse line we have today), series 20 was the last numbered series of figures released under the name. For a "final series" it was an unusual series of figures to say the least including variants of Green Arrow, Sinestro, and the Flash, Red Arrow, Reverse Flash, Nekron, and the team of Hawk and Dove. Today I'm checking out Dove, the lone female figure from series 20. As I mentioned in yesterday's review of Bronze Tiger I picked up a few loose DC Universe Classics figures from someone a couple of weeks ago and both Dove and Hawk were included. I'm enjoying filling in holes in my collection so I figured I'd take the time to review them, starting with Dove. Hawk and Dove are definitely not characters I'm super familiar with but being a fan of both DC Comics and of the DC Universe Classics aesthetic, I'm glad to finally add them to my collection. Let's take a closer look at this figure after the break...

Monday, November 27, 2017

A couple of weeks ago I found someone selling some second-hand DC Universe Classics figures. DCUC is one of my favorite lines and I'm always on the lookout for figures I missed the first time around. The figure the seller was offering that caught my attention first was Bronze Tiger from Series 18. Released in 2011, Bronze Tiger became one of the most sought after figures in a series that was largely comprised of Super Friends characters (Apache Chief was the build-a-figure). Having risen to prominence as part of the League of Assassins and the Suicide Squad, Bronze Tiger has also made an appearance in Rebirth in the main Batman title and has been in Arrow. He's a character that it seems unlikely that we'll see again in plastic form anytime soon so I'm glad to finally add him to the collection. Let'c check him out after the break...

Sunday, November 26, 2017

Last week while doing a little Christmas shopping with my daughter we stumbled upon a store called Bargain Hunt. It's a retailer that deals in closeout merchandise, kind of like an Essex, Ollie's, or Big Lots. They had a great selection of toys, however, and I ended up finding a DC Comics Multiverse Supergirl from the Supergirl TV series for $8 bucks. I readily admit that I'm terrible at keeping up with TV shows and thus I've never seen a single episode of the new Supergirl series starring Melissa Benoist. I think I'm going to have to change that as doing some research on the show in order to review this figure has me pretty intrigued. Supergirl was part of the Doomsday series of figures that were released last fall. I reviewed about half of that series at the time (Armored Batman, Robin, and the Mutant Leader) but I didn't pick up Supergirl, Superman: Doomed, or Lex Luthor in his prison duds. Now that I have Supergirl, let's check her out after the break...

Friday, November 24, 2017

On episode #78 of the Confirmed Epic Podcast The Reel Brad Bell & AKA Andrew Stokes are back to review a film they have waited their entire lives for: Warner Bros. Justice League directed by both Zack Snyder and Joss Whedon. As always we get into the epic news items of the week, as well as what we have been checking out.

Let us know what you thought about the podcast in the comments below or follow and tweet us @thereelbradbell

As I mentioned earlier in the week I just recently bought a Nintendo Switch. Due both to wanting some more Amiibo figures to use in Super Mario Odyssey and wanting some more characters to pose alongside of my World of Nintendo collection I've been picking up some characters here and there. The first non Animal Crossing Amiibo I've picked up is Rosalina from the Super Mario series. Originally appearing in Super Mario Galaxy on the Nintendo Wii Rosalina has long been one of my most wanted characters in Jakks Pacific's World of Nintendo line. Rosalina is a great, unique character in the Super Mario Bros. series and she makes for a great looking Amiibo. This is the second Rosalina released in Amiibo form; the first was released in February 2015 as part of the Super Smash Bros. Series. Let's take a closer look at this updated Rosalina after the break...

Wednesday, November 22, 2017

Today on Action Figure Barbecue I'm checking out the Amazon exclusive First Order Stormtrooper with a bunch of extra gear. Hasbro released plenty of variants of the First Order Stormtrooper in the Black Series when The Force Awakens was released but they did skip the Heavy Gunner Stormtrooper version. This set finally gives us the Heavy Gunner alongside of a bunch of other accessories. It's honestly the closest thing we've seen to an accessory pack in a Star Wars toyline since those sets that came out during the Attack of the Clones line. For $35 dollars you get a standard First Order Stormtrooper with the gear to outfit him as four different troop types. Pretty cool, really, and you can use the gear on your previous basic First Order Stormtroopers to outfit them, too. Let's see how this set turned out after the break...

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Like the First Order Stormtroopers for The Force Awakens and the Scarif Stormtroopers/ Shore Troopers for Rogue One, the Elite Praetorian Guards seem to be Hasbro's go to faceless minions for creating multiple variants for this year's Star Wars merchandising bonanza. Set to appear in The Last Jedi, we currently don't know much about the Elite Praetorian Guard other than there are eight of them, they use martial arts styled weapons, and they guard Supreme Leader Snoke while clad in red, just like the Emperor's Royal Guard. The latest Elite Praetorian Guard variant is given the designation of coming with a heavy blade and is an Amazon exclusive. He just started shipping within the past week or two and you should still be able to pick him up. Let's take a closer look at what makes this guy unique after the break...

Monday, November 20, 2017

Recently I picked up a Nintendo Switch. I'm really enjoying it as it's a system with plenty of high quality games that I can play along with my four year old. Right now we're mostly playing Super Mario Odyssey and the game takes advantage of Nintendo's amiibo collection to allow you to obtain a bonus power-up, unlock special costumes early, or even obtain hints on where to find the games numerous hidden moons. I picked up a few of the Animal Crossing amiibo figures earlier this year both due to playing Animal Crossing: New Leaf and my desire to add them to my World of Nintendo collection, and now I've picked up a few more to add to the collection. Today I'm looking at a cool display base for the amiibo figures that is modeled after the flagpole and stairs that appeared at the end of the levels in the original Super Mario Bros. videogame. While it is branded as an officially licensed Nintendo amiibo product, it was actually produced by the company PowerA. Does that make this a second party item? I actually picked it up more to use with my World of Nintendo figures rather than to use with my amiibos, but it works great with both collections. Let's take a look at it after the break...

Saturday, November 18, 2017

So, what did you think of Justice League? I liked it! In fact, I loved it! As a DC fan, getting the chance to watch the Justice League interact and just be heroic on screen was a magical experience. I was giddy and enthusiastic the whole way through! Now I can definitely understand why not everyone is going to appreciate this movie but I'm nuts about it (I'll probably be talking more about it on the Confirmed Epic Podcast next week). Now let's talk about one of my disappointments (which I really don't think is a spoiler, but your mileage may vary): Mera has a very, very small role in the movie. Maybe 5 minutes of screen time. I assumed she wasn't going to have a starring role but I did think she would play a bigger part throughout considering her prevalence in marketing materials. She'll definitely have a much larger role in next year's Aquaman so I guess we should consider her appearance in Justice League to be similar to the cameos of the Flash, Cyborg, and Aquaman in BvS. This Mera figure is an Amazon exclusive and just started shipping in the past week or two. Let's take a closer look at her after the break...

Friday, November 17, 2017

We're now less than a month away from the release of Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi! I don't know about you but I'm insanely excited. I read all of the new canon books and having just recently finished The Legends of Luke Skywalker by Ken Liu, I'm even more excited to how the new film truly portrays the aged Jedi master. Today's toy review isn't about Luke, though; it's about his original mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi. For the past few years Walgreens has had an annual Star Wars: The Black Series exclusive figure and this year's figure is the Force Spirit version of Obi-Wan Kenobi. While this is largely a repaint of the previously released Obi-Wan Kenobi figure that first showed up at SDCC 2016, the paint work here really helps this one to stand out. I still remember receiving my Spirit of Obi-Wan action figure from Frito Lays in 1997, so this one feels a bit nostalgic to me. Hasbro has tried different methods of capturing the Force Spirit versions of Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Anakin over the years this might be their best attempt. More after the break...

Thursday, November 16, 2017

On episode #77 of the Confirmed Epic Podcast The Reel Brad Bell & AKA Andrew Stokes are joined by a very special new co-host: Kate Mcall to review the latest installment in the MCU: Thor Ragnarok. As always we get into the epic news items of the week, as well as what we have been checking out.

We also finally answer the question of who the hell is Hela?

*We apologize for the technical difficulties in our return during last week'sStranger Things 2 Review, but have taken steps to correct that, mainly by recording a live in person edition of The Confirmed Epic Podcast for the first time in quite sometime.

Wednesday, November 15, 2017

We're only a few days away from the release of Justice League and I, for one, am getting pretty excited. I think I have my expectations set at a reasonable level but I'm also getting pretty enthused that there is some good feedback coming from early showings of the film. Of course, whether the film is good or bad we're still getting toys and plenty of them. Overall Mattel's offerings for Justice League have been pretty bad but today I'm looking at a set they've released as a Target exclusive that is quite cool. It's called "The Flash: From Page to Screen" and it features both a comic version of the Flash and the film vision of the Flash. While this set features a good deal of reuse, there are also a few cool new parts, too. I've had this set since the end of October but I figured it might be a cool set to get us all pumped up for Justice Legaue. More fast fun coming after the break...

Saturday, November 11, 2017

Today I'm reviewing Funko's Tom Servo POP! vinyl from Mystery Science Theater and he's the wind, baby. Other than a few mini busts/ statues that came with some of the various DVD sets released over the years (which I unfortunately do not own) these are the first MST3K toys ever released. MST3K was one of the first "fringe" things I ever fell in love with and I have very, very fond memories of watching it on Comedy Central and the Sci-Fi channel as well as renting the movies from Blockbuster back in the day. I remember when I was in middle school reading the earliest issues of ToyFare magazine and it always seemed like there were requests for Mystery Science Theater 3000 action figures (the show was on the air during that time in the Mike Nelson years) and yet it has taken all these years for these to materialize. While they're not traditional action figures or toys, I'm definitely appreciative of these Funko POP! vinyls. Currently Funko has only released Tom Servo, Crow T. Robot, and a chase variant Tom Serv.Crow that is selling for ridiculous amounts of money. I loathe Funko's chase variants, by the way. It's just.... Oh, no we've got a review incoming!!!

Thursday, November 9, 2017

On episode #76 of the Confirmed Epic Podcast The Reel Brad Bell & AKA Andrew Stokes triumphantly return to the pod to review one the most anticipated entertainment events of 2017: The Duffer Brothers Stranger Things 2. As always we get into the epic news items of the week, as well as what we have been checking out.

Let us know what you thought about the podcast in the comments below or follow and tweet us @thereelbradbell

Monday, November 6, 2017

The most recent series of DC Comics Multiverse figures only requires five figures to complete the Collect & Connect figure: The Rookie. Well, the Rookie is what the packaging calls the figure, anyways. This is the GCPD Batsuit/ Batbot from Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's run on Batman during the New 52. There are plenty of positive things to say about that series, one of them being that there was no shortage of unique ideas. Having James Gordon fill in as Batman during Bruce Wayne's absence was a pretty interesting concept and really helped to further the story while highlighting what makes Batman so unique. Anyways, while Mattel seems ready to move forward with lots of Rebirth themed action figures the release of the Rookie seems to be kind of a last hurrah for Mattel's involvement with the New 52. They started doing some New 52 stuff early on, largely ditched the 6 inch scale, and then for most of it, and only jumped back in just prior to Rebirth with a few Batman related releases. They released the GCPD Batman/ Gordon that goes along with this release in the King Shark series, which now seems kind of off. Why not release these two in the same series? This series is a pretty Bat-centric series (out of the figure figures, two are Bat-family members, one's a Batman villain, and one is Batman himself) so the inclusion makes sense here, too. Let's check this big guy out after the break...

Sunday, November 5, 2017

I'm really loving Medicom's MAFEX offerings lately. Their quality has improved tremednously and both their BvS and Suicide Squad figures have been incredible. They've got some impressive looking stuff on the horizon from both the upcoming Justice League and the past Christopher Nolan Dark Knight trilogy, too. The prices seem to be going up a bit, however, which is definitely causing me to keep my eyes open. For now, though, they're some of the most impressive "higher end" action figures on the market for the money. Today I'm looking at the MAFEX Harley Quinn No.042, which is Harley in the gold dress from the beginning of Suicide Squad. So far as I can tell this seems to be the last Suicide Squad figure MAFEX is offering although depending on how well it sells I could always see them offering more Harley variants. She always sells, doesn't she? While she's not officially confirmed for Justice League, there are rumors that both Harley and the Joker might show up, so I figure she is deserving of a spot in my "Unite the League" banners to help get us pumped for the review of the film. Let's take a closer look at Harley after the break...

Saturday, November 4, 2017

First appearing in issue #21 of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's Batman in 2013, Duke Thomas has had a pretty crazy road to becoming a member of the Bat-family. He considered challenging the Riddler during Zero Year, rescued Bruce Wayne during Hurricane Rene, was kidnapped by the Joker during Endgame, had his parents turned into mindless maniacs by the Joker's toxins, got placed in foster care, ran into some legal troubles do to getting in fights, joined the Robins, began training with Batman, and eventually became the Signal. While hopefully Mattel will eventually release Duke Thomas as the Signal, today we're checking out Duke in his red leather jacket outfit from We Are Robin. Let's check out this nicely modern figure after the break...

Wednesday, November 1, 2017

I have been anxiously anticipating this Batwing figure ever since Mattel announced it. I am still absolutely flummoxed by the fact that DC Collectibles was consistently releasing figures from the New 52 and yet they never got around to releasing Batwing. The dude is a member of the Batman family who had his own title. How could that not be a winning choice? It's possibly due to the fact that since Batwing's introduction two different individuals have worn the suit. David Zavimbe was the first Batwing who was part of Batman Incorporated. The second, and current, Batwing is Luke Fox. the son of Lucius Fox, Luke stepped into the Batwing role in issue #19 of the Batwing series and became a major player throughout the Bat-family stories. In Rebirth he has stepped into the Detective Comics team and continues to be a major player. Sadly, this isn't a very good figure. It's incredibly disappointing and has some truly strange manufacturing issues that have me worried for what Mattel might release in the future. Read on and learn more after the break...